OSCILLATORIA (TRICHODESMIUM) THIEBAUTII (CYANOPHYTA) IN THE CENTRAL NORTH-ATLANTIC OCEAN

Physiological rate measurements were made with Oscillatoria thiebautii (Gom.) Geitler in the subtropical north Atlantic Ocean between Spain and Bermuda during May and June of 1975. The near surface C:N fixation ratios averaged 6.5, and the cellular composition ratio was 6.2, suggesting that N2 fixation is the major path of nitrogenous nutrition for this alga. Compared to other oceanic phytoplankters, it has a low affinity for orthophosphate at oceanic concentrations (ks= 9.0); however, it has a high potential for utilizing phosphomonoesters (170–300 ng atoms P ·μg chl a−1· h−1). Maximal photosynthesis occurred at 450–700 μ Einstein · m−2· s−1, and was inhibited by full sunlight. Calculated cell division rates (ca. 180 days) suggest that relative to other phytoplankters in this oceanic region, O. thiebautii must be subjected to negligible grazing pressure. No major differences in C, N, chl a or ATP were observed between the tuft (fusiform) and puff (spherical) colonies. ATP concentrations relative to other cellular constituents varied greatly between colonies, suggesting a general inter‐colony physiological variability in the open Atlantic. With increasing depth in the euphotic zone, there was no evidence for chromatic adaption. The observations that O. thiebautii represents only a small fraction of total phytoplankton biomass and that its growth rate is 10–100 times slower than that of the other indigenous phytoplankton, strongly suggest that N2 fixation by this alga is a virtually insignificant component of the nitrogenous nutrition for the phytoplankton of the North Atlantic central gyre in late Spring. Copyright © 1979, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved